The absence of snow or debris from large paved surfaces, particularly airport runways, is essential for tire traction which assures the safe passage of a vehicle, particularly a high speed vehicle such as an airplane, over the paved surface. Accordingly, operators of airports and those who maintain the surface condition of large paved surfaces have found it effective to sweep such large paved surfaces to remove buildups of snow or debris. To minimize the time required to perform sweeping operations, it has become an accepted practice to use large rotating brooms. These large rotating brooms are moved over the large paved surface by being mounted on the front of or being towed behind a truck. In the U.S., the preference has been to mount a rotating broom to the front of the truck so that the truck driver can observe the direction in which the truck is headed and, at the same time, observe the effectiveness of the sweeping operation.
The use of snow or debris removal devices mounted on the front of trucks to remove fallen snow or debris from large paved surfaces is not a new one, as snow plows have been mounted to the front of self-propelled trucks almost as long as there have been self-propelled trucks. When rotating brooms were determined to be effective in removing accumulations of snow and accumulations of debris from large paved surfaces, such rotating brooms were mounted to the front of trucks in a manner similar the mounting of snow plows. Specifically, the mounting hardware was connected primarily to either the truck's front bumper, the forward portion of the truck's frame, or both. While the front bumper and the forward portion of the truck's frame are effective for holding the rotating broom, its mounting hardware, and its powering equipment, the impact of this heavy weight on the safe handling of the truck was often overlooked. Because the rotating broom, its mounting hardware, and its powering equipment were positioned further away from the front of the truck to enable angular repositioning of the rotating broom for directing the path of swept snow or debris to one side of the truck, the negative effects of the weight of the rotating broom on the drivability of the truck were exacerbated. Specifically, under certain conditions, some drivers of trucks with rotating broom systems mounted thereon noticed substantial leaning of the truck to one side or another.
One solution to the negative effects on the drivability of the truck from the weight of a rotating broom system mounted to the front thereof was to place a caster system under the rotating broom system to reduce the amount of weight transferred directly to the truck. While such caster systems were effective in modifying weight distribution, the use of a caster system near the rotating broom created new problems in controlling broom direction and in maintaining sweeping quality. One cause of these problems is the fact that the bristles of the rotating broom continually shorten during sweeping operations. Solutions to the problem of the negative effects on the drivability of the truck have included adding counterbalance weight or using complex hydraulic control systems to both position or control the operation of the rotating broom and improve the drivability of the truck. Such systems have only demonstrated limited effectiveness, and the problems associated with drivability control remain.
Accordingly, a need remains for a robust system to mount a rotating broom system to the front of a truck so that there will be no negative impact on the drivability of the truck or detraction from the effectiveness of the sweeping operation.